US$149 Sony A7 IV firmware licence unlocks 4 custom PNG grid lines for professional photographers

Sony's Alpha 7 IV launched over two years ago and quickly became a mainstay in the bags of many different photographers, both professionals and hobbyists. In the time since then, though, there has been a bit of disappointment due to Sony's lack of meaningful software and firmware update offerings.

Apparently, Sony has heard the cries of its users, this week announcing an Alpha functional licence that adds custom gridline functionality to its mirorrless cameras. The licence costs US$149, and will be available starting in March 2024 from Sony's firmware update page.

It may seem like a silly feature to charge so US$149 for, but it can prove quite useful in production settings, like amusement parks, school photos, or other similar events, where you might need repeated framing or to preview how graphical elements will be imposed on the image during editing.

Since images will be loaded onto the camera as PNG files, they can even include logos or borders that need to be added on during editing.

For now, only the Alpha 7 IV is compatible with the custom gridline licence, but Sony has promised to update the licence page with information about supported models further down the line.

Buy a Sony A7 IV mirrorless camera body on Amazon, or if you're after something less expensive, Fujifilm's X-S20 is a great entry-point to the mirrorless market.